Brussels-West Police have arrested five underage members of a "violent" gang operating in the area.
Police in the Brussels-West zone conducted five separate house searches on 22 August, targeting a gang known for "violent robberies and intentional assault". According to a press release, "they are very violent and operate mainly in parks and underground stations."
The operation culminated in five arrests. All suspects are aged between 15 and 17 and have committed multiple criminal acts since the beginning of the year.
Three suspects were dispatched to the Brussels Public Prosecutor's Office and detained. Two were sent to the Halle-Vilvoorde district, where one was placed in a juvenile detention centre and the other was acquitted.
The Brussels-West Zone
The Brussels-West police zone comprises five municipalities: Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, Koekelberg, Jette, Ganshoren and Berchem-Sainte-Agathe. Three in 15 of Brussels' "drug hotspots" are located in Molenbeek and are thus subjected to increased police surveillance.
There have been a number of notable incidents in the area in recent months. In early August, a police officer was attacked in a police station in Molenbeek. A man was shot dead in Koekelberg two weeks ago.
Credit: Belga
The long-standing debate about merging Brussels' six police zones has cropped up again in the context of the Federal Government formation talks.
All French-speaking parties excluding Ecolo campaigned against a merger in the run-up to the elections. However, Francophone centrists Les Engagés say they are prepared to revisit the idea to reach an agreement with N-VA, the Flemish right-wing party leading the discussions.
The Francophone Parti Socialiste (PS) remains opposed to centralisation, calling it a "false good idea" that would damage local policing. Advocates of a merger believe that pooling resources would help officers to fight crime that bleeds across borders.
